Pick programming, is knowing binary operations foundational? Is knowing compilers? Is it knowing bubble sort? Or perhaps knowing data structures?
I believe that if you have been using/working in a field, whatever you touch for your own goals that's enough.
And perhaps the difference between being an expert beginner and an expert is whether you still care about such a distinction? If you can achieve your current and future goals and can eventually learn new concepts then you're good.
I'd say a beginner might be someone who wouldn't even know where to begin.
Let's pick chemistry for myself: sure, I could follow some video but without the video I wouldn't even conceive how to get started with anything.
While, say woodworking, I wouldn't call myself an expert but I would be able to imagine starting a random project from scratch and eventually figure out all the parts.
So, maybe: - beginner: can't complete a project without help/support - mid: can complete but is unsure whether that's the best way - expert: has completed it before somehow